Publisher's Synopsis
Elk Riders has received starred reviews from Kirkus which called the series "grand," "brilliant," and "visionary." It has won the Jim Barnes Moonbeam Award for Children's Literature and a 5 STAR Review from Readers Favorite.
A thousand years ago, the dark sorcerers, the Kryen, were dethroned and entombed. The world has lived in peace ever since. Now their acolytes want to bring them back. Gabriella just wanted her island village to remain the same. She wished for more friends and less time minding her brother, Dameon. When she sets out on a stolen airship to find a way to stop those who would change her home, she is swept up in a conflict between those who serve the Kryen and those sworn to stop them. It is a conflict that reaches far beyond the shores of Gabriella's home and deep into the mists of time-a conflict that raises armies, divides kingdoms, and shatters peace. Elk Riders volumes one and two follow Gabriella with a band of companions: an old man; a village outcast; and a mysterious elk as she strives to keep her village the same as it ever was. But to do so, Gabriella might have to change in ways she never intended. Elk Riders volumes three through five continue with Haille Hillbourne, a failure as a prince who is cast off by his father. Disliked and disregarded for his epilepsy, he is an unwanted reminder of the beloved queen, who died giving birth to him. Haille wants nothing to do with politics or royalty. He wants to be a son who is accepted by his father. With his friend, Katlyn, he embarks on a quest to find a spring that might cure his illness. Both become pawns in a conspiracy to murder the king, destabilize the kingdom, and resurrect the Kryen. Haille and Katlyn seek help from two disgraced war veterans and an elk of unknown origin. What started as a quest for a spring, turns into a scramble to avert war, heal a people, and avert the catastrophe of the Kryen's return. Elk Riders is high fantasy at its best. It's a story of underestimated misfits caught up in a fight on a scale they never expected. Beyond the numerous comparisons to Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia, Elk Riders sits in a pantheon of classic and contemporary fantasy: Ursula K. Leguin's, Earthsea series; Madeleine L'Engle's, A Wrinkle in Time; Garth Nix's, Old Kingdom-Abhorsen Series; Joe Abercrombie's, Shattered Sea; NK Jemisin's, The Broken Earth; and a plethora of television gems from Willow to the Dragon Prince and Last Airbender.
